I recently took five days off from working out. In those five days my only form of movement was daily functional tasks like walking from point a to point b, playing with A and doing house chores. I haven’t taken this much time off from the gym since being 7-8 weeks postpartum. Let me tell you why and how I knew it was time to take a break from the gym.
Our bodies are a lot like bank accounts. We are happier, more joyful and feel better when we have a lot of energy stored in our bodies. Just like we are a lot happier when our bank account is growing and thriving. Well, at least I am. Then there are those times when it seems like only withdrawals are being taken out of your bank account and your happiness slowly fades away until the next deposit. If we workout too hard for too long and don’t recover properly we are taking withdrawals out on our bodies and not giving it enough deposits.
Stay with me here. If you want a thriving happy and healthy body you must train smart, change up your activity and take time to rest and recover.
Just like we balance our checkbook, we have to balance our activity intensities with our rest and recovery efforts. Find a balance by:
- If life is beating you up, don’t beat yourself up in the gym. Take a rest day or two or three.
- If life is good, you’re relaxed, recovered and ready to get after it, do the damn thing.
- Don’t try to kill yourself with every workout. Have some low key days, higher intensity days and moderate intensity days.
Now, how to know if you should take a few days off from the gym? Well, pay attention and listen to your body. I know I know, this is easier said than done. Here are a few things to pay attention to while you’re working out that might be signs that it’s time to rest:
- heart rate
- muscle soreness
- energy level
- breathing exertion
- mental state
- time of the month (for you ladies)
Pay attention and make observations to these clues. One day your workout might feel like death because you have period cramps and stressed at work. But on a different day when you had a healthy breakfast and meditated you rocked that same workout. On days you are feeling great, push it a little harder. On days you’re not feeling so hot, take it easy. Most days, aim for somewhere in between.
For me, I knew it was time to take a good break from the gym because I was experiencing mental fog, not looking forward going to the gym day after day, my muscle soreness wasn’t recovering as quickly and my energy levels were suffering. It’s not like me to not want to go to the gym so that was a big indicator for me. Along with never feeling like I had energy and feeling mentally weak I knew I needed a decent rest and recovery period.
Rest and recovery can look differently for everyone. Sometimes we need to take a full rest and not leave the couch while other times we need to take an active recovery. More times than not, some form of movement is better than none. That is why during my rest period I made sure to walk a lot, get up often when working and run around with A as much as possible, and I even took a paddle boarding class.
If you head to gym when you aren’t feeling the best, take it nice and easy. Generally, after a few minutes you will feel a bit more energized and maybe even have a great workout. Another way to take an active break from the gym is to try something different. Get outside for a walk or bike ride or take a new class.
Just like there are clues that tell us we need a break, there are sign that that tell us we are recovering well after your workouts. Here is a list of cues to pay attention to to know you are getting in an appropriate balance of activity and rest.
- Feeling energized and well-rested
- Performing well in the gym
- Sleeping well
- Low and calm morning heart rate
- Strong immune system
- Consistently in a good mood
- Normal menstrual cycles
- Balanced appetite
- No uncommon aches and pains
Taking five days off from the gym is exactly what my body and mind needed. When I got back into things, I was motivated to push myself, I felt confident in my abilities, and my body felt well rested and energized. Our bodies need rest and time to recover. If you have been feeling run down, foggy or experiencing any other abnormal symptoms, ask yourself, is it time to take a break from the gym?